What were the similarities and differences between Montesquieu, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau's philosophy, ideas, and views on government?

Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were all political philosophers that debated the question of who was best fit to control the government. Thomas Hobbes stood out among the four philosophers in that he believed that a strong absolute monarchy was the best form of government. His support of absolute monarchs stemmed from his belief that men, in nature, acted in their own self-interests and could not be trusted to act for the good of society. His theory was that in order to secure a peaceful and orderly society, people formed a social contract with an absolute ruler that would sacrifice individual liberties for the good of the whole. The only similarity in theories with the other philosophers was the idea of a need for people to form a social contract with the government.

Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau leaned towards a more democratic system of government. They felt that there were unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property that a government was responsible for protecting. Their idea of a social contract was reciprocal in nature meaning that while citizens granted government sovereignty, the government was to guarantee that these freedoms were protected. Locke was the first to propose that these were unalienable rights.

Montesquieu also opposed the idea of an absolute monarchy and believed that the main purpose of government was to maintain law and order and protect the political liberty and property of the individual. Montesquieu advocated a system of elected representatives that were separated into branches to separate and balance power. Montesquieu was similar with John Locke in the idea of representative government and popular sovereignty.

Jean Jacque Rousseau was different from Thomas Hobbes in that he believed in the inherent nature of people to do good and act for the best of the group. With that in mind, Rousseau advocated for a form of direct democracy in which all citizens are permitted to vote on laws and the operations of government. Rousseau agreed with Locke and Montesquieu that government's principal responsibility was to protect the rights of the people.